Taking a Chance
by MetekinGiant
Summary: In this Pokémon fanfic, Ash and Dawn had never met. Ash, Brock and Dawn are all 15 and they attend the same school. Enjoy ;) (Ash x Dawn)
1. Chapter 1

_"__Why do I bother?" _I asked myself. _"She'd never notice me. Every guy in my year likes her, so why would she choose me?"_ Dawn Berlitz, the prettiest bluenette in Year 9, was sitting a mere two metres away. I attempted to get her off my mind by listening to my Science teacher give us possibly the longest speech on electrons in history. I rolled my eyes, bored once again. My thoughts returned to Dawn. I risked a glance at her. Her hair curved perfectly around her ears. Her eyes, a bright shade of blue, sparkled in the light. She turned in my direction and I quickly snapped my head back into position, once again facing the front of the classroom. I decided not to risk looking again until after class.

The bell rang loudly. As the class gathered their things, preparing to go to fourth period, I quickly moved to the back of the classroom, next to Brock. "Hey, Ash," he said in a friendly tone. I kept my line of sight on Ash while responding, "Hey, Brock." He looked over my shoulder, trying to figure out what I was looking at. He spotted Dawn and chuckled. "Staring at Dawn again, huh?" he joked. That remark earned Brock a punch to the arm. "Ow!" he laughed. A smile crept up onto my face when I heard this. Dawn had moved into a crowd of girls and I lost sight of her, so I gave up and turned to face Brock. "C'mon. Let's get to Maths," I said to him.

As we walked out of the classroom, he said, "You've really got to fix that "staring" thing. It's creepy."

"Do you _want _another punch?" I asked jokingly. Brock and I laughed, until he spotted someone. "Heads up," he said to me. I looked up to see Dawn walking towards me. I swallowed. Dawn smiled politely and asked, "Hey, do you guys know where Maths is?" I stood there like an idiot, just looking at her and blinking. Luckily, Brock saved me by saying quickly, "Uh, yeah. It's in B5." He pointed to the opposite way Dawn had come. "Oh. Thanks, Brpck. See you!" She then turned to me and said, "Bye, Andy." I tried my best to hide my anguish while Dawn walked away. Once she was out of earshot, Brock cracked up laughing. "_Andy_!" he said between breaths. "She called you _Andy_!" "Shut up," I frowned. "How could she forget me? We're in the same Homeroom class!" Brock put a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry. She won't forget you now. The guy that stared at her with his mouth open for three _whole _minutes!" he said sarcastically. That one got him a corked thigh. "Argh! That one hurt!" he said, groaning in pain. "Good," I responded. "Maybe next time, you'll shut up when I ask you." Brock laughed.

Part 2 in Progress


	2. Chapter 2

After school, Brock and I walked to my house to watch Pokedex Pandemonium, a new TV show made by Professor Oak. Mum asked, "How was school?" Brock quickly gave me an evil grin that resembled a Cheshire cat, then turned to my mother and said, "School was OK for me, but I think Ash here had a great day." "Great," said my mother. Brock turned back to the television screen and continued, "Of course, he spent most of it staring at Dawn Berlitz, so..." My smile dropped. I looked at Brock with the dirtiest look I could muster. If looks could kill, I was pretty sure Officer Jenny would put me in jail for Murder right now. But Brock just laughed.

He got up, saying that his Mum would be expecting him soon, and that he'd better get going. He looked down at me, grinning and muttering just loud enough for me to hear it, "Have fun with that." He then spoke in a clear, loud voice, "OK, see you tomorrow at school, Ash." Brock then turned to Mum and said, "Thanks, Miss Ketchum." Mum smiled and responded, "Its OK, sweetie. You come over whenever you like."

Brock headed to the door, humming _Sitting in a Tree _loudly. "Bye!" he said. I felt like giving him the finger, but instead I waved while mouthing _Thanks _sarcastically. Once the door closed, Mum faced me and said teasingly, "Dawn Berlitz? Isn't she that really pretty girl in your Homeroom class?" I groaned. "Mum. Don't." She giggled, saying, "Just teasing, dear. Dinner won't be ready for a while, so go have a bath or something. You're still all muddy from school." I was thankful she was changing the subject, so I agreed to have a bath. I went upstairs to my room to get my pyjamas when my iPhone buzzed on my bed. I checked it, and was pretty shocked to see what it said.

_sent you a message:_

_Hey._

I raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Maybe she _did_ remember me staring at her today. Crap. I messaged her back cautiously:

_Hey_

This began a reasonably normal Facebook conversation.

Dawn: _Wud?_

Ash: _Nm. Wud_

Dawn: _Nm. Soz 4 calling u Jason 2day. My brain was mush _

Ash: _Ahaha same_

Dawn: _Do u watch Pokémon Pandemonium?_

I was surprised by the sudden change of topic. I decided to answer truthfully and see where it went.

Jordan: _Yeh. It's pretty cool_

Lily: _YES! Did u catch today's ep? I missed it_

Jordan: _Yeh! Was just watching it!_

"Ash, are you having your bath yet?" called out Mum. "Not yet!" I responded. "Well hurry up! Dinner's nearly ready!" I groaned. I was slightly angry with Mum for making me end my conversation with Dawn earlier than I wanted to.

Ash: _Gtg. Cya school_

I turned off my iPhone and grabbed my pyjamas. _"Will she message me again?" _I wondered hopefully.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at school, I told Brock about my conversation with Dawn.  
"Really?" asked Brock, with a slight tone of sarcasm. "Yes! That's what happened!" I yelled back for the fifth time. "I don't understand why you don't believe me!" Brock looked at me and sighed, "I don't believe you for two reasons:

Reason number One; this is _Dawn Berlitz _we're talking about. As if she would watch Pokémon Pandemonium.

Reason number two; why, out of everyone in the _school_ would she choose to talk to you, instead of, like, one of her friends?"

I thought about what Brock had said. Why _did_ she choose to talk to me? Could she like… "No," I said to myself, unaware that I had said it aloud. "No, what?" asked Brock, confused. I shook my head and said, "Nothing. What's our next period?" Brock checked his schedule. "Uh…Science, I think. In Room 11." I nodded.

Brock and I decided to head out to the Basketball courts to see if we could join in a game. On our way, I noticed a banner saying _Valentine's Day this Monday!_ I made a mental note to try and be sick on Monday. Brock elbowed me gently and asked, "Do we have training tonight? I forgot." Brock and I played for the same basketball team, the Machamps. I racked my brain for an answer. "Nah. Training's off this week, because Coach is sick, remember?"

"Oh, true. Thanks," said Brock. "Wait, so that means we get an early weekend after school!" I smiled, knowing what Brock was about to suggest.

"Gaming marathon?" asked Brock.

"Sounds good to me!" I said. I grinned as the bell went, signalling the end of lunch. As we headed to Room 11, I glanced back at the Valentine's Day banner.

I yawned loudly. Mum looked at me and said, "You should go have a nap, sweetie." I tried to shake my drowsiness away, and responded by saying, "Mum, I'm fine." She tutted, "Well, that's what you get when you stay up _all _night playing those video games with Brock." I smiled, my eyelids growing heavier. Eventually, I caved and went to my room to sleep.

On Sunday morning, I went to Brock's house after breakfast. I saw him outside watering the garden around his house. "Hey, Brock!" I called out. He didn't turn around. I jogged up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Huh?" he said. He turned around to face me and smiled. "Hi, Ash. Sorry, I didn't hear you," Brock said while taking an earphone out of his ear. "Is that…" I asked while trying to listen to the song emitting from the now hanging earphone. "Is that _Baby _by Justin Bieber?" Brock's face went bright red, like a tomato. "No! Uh…it's..." he sighed. "Yeah. It's _Baby_. This isn't my iPod though. My sister took mine when she went to the bowling alley with her boyfriend."

"Oh," I said teasingly, "That makes it alright, then."

"Shut up," he said. I laughed outrageously. "So, what are you doing today?" I asked, eventually calming myself down. "I've got to finish the garden," said Brock, "But once I've done that I'm free for the rest of the day."

"Great!" I said while chucking Brock my basketball. "I thought we could head down to the Town Court and have a practice." He spun the ball on his index finger and said, "Yeah, sure. I'll just finish up here."

After Brock finished his chores, he and I went into town, then to the park. We looked over at the Basketball Court and saw that no one was using it. "Let's go," he said. We headed to the Court, passing to each other on the way. I ran up to the three- point line and took a shot. It arched through the air perfectly and made a brilliant _swish_ sound. "Refund!" I called out to Brock. He passed me the ball and I practised some dribbling moves before shooting again. My aim was a little off this time and the ball bounced off of the rim. I looked around as Brock got the rebound, and I saw a girl leaning against the fence on the other side, arms crossed. She was a bluenette, wearing a white beanie with a pink pokeball symbol. I thought I knew her from somewhere, and then it hit me.

"Dawn?" I whispered to myself. I squinted to try and get a better look, when I heard…  
"Heads up!" I spun on the spot, quickly, but not quickly enough, and the ball hit me square on the forehead. The force of the ball sent me flying back onto the ground. I groaned, clutching my head. Brock ran over, chuckling. He took a deep breath and said, "Sorry! Are you alright?" "Yeah," I said slowly. "I'm fine. Did…Did she see that?" I asked, hopeful that she didn't. "Did _who _see that?" asked Brock curiously. I pointed over to where Dawn was standing. Brock looked and said, "Ash, there's no one there." I turned my head and looked. He was right. Dawn wasn't there after all. "I must've hit you harder than I thought!" joked Brock. I laughed and got up, shrugging. "Oh well. Let's get back to shooting." I quickly glanced back to the spot where I _thought _I saw Dawn, and still, no one there. "Huh," I said.

Chapter 4 in progress, guys!


	4. Chapter 4

I got to school on Monday morning early, so I waited at my locker for Brock, like I usually did when he was late. I checked my schedule and realised that I had more books than I needed, so I opened my locker, intending to put my spare book inside. I looked inside and saw a rose, with a note attached to it. Curious, I picked it up and read the note.

_Ash,_

_People say that a rose knows the entire history of love between two,_

_But even two of these roses cannot show my love for you._

_My love for the one whom I depend,_

_A love that will never end._

_From,_

_A Secret Admirer_

I was shocked. _A secret admirer?_ I thought. Was this some sort of prank by Brock, or something? Suddenly, I heard a voice yell, "Oi!" I jumped, startled by Brock's surprising appearance. He looked at the rose and asked, "Who's that for?"

"It's for…me." I responded. I gave him the note to read. "Whoa…" he said. "I know, right?"

"Who wrote this?"

"I dunno. I thought it was, like, a prank from you."

He shook his head, re-reading the note. "Nah, man. I didn't do this." I shot him a stern look, searching for a tiny smirk, a twitch in his eye, anything that might've signalled that he was lying. Brock looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

I rattled my head, breaking my concentration. "It doesn't matter. This is probably some sort of joke, anyway," I said to Brock, now believing that he wasn't lying. Suddenly, the bell rang. The reverberating sound hit me like a slap to the face. Brock and I headed to our first class of the day.

During lunch, Brock and I were having a couple of shots on the basketball court, when I spotted Dawn and her Piplup heading out towards the forest, where we weren't allowed during school hours. I gave the ball to Brock, saying that I was going to the toilet. I got Pikachu and stealthily followed Dawn into the forest. Eventually, Dawn stopped and sat down in front of a pond with Piplup. I hid behind a large tree, motioning to Pikachu not to talk. He nodded, intrigued as to why we were in the forest. Dawn got up and said to Piplup, "OK, Piplup. I've been practising. Want to hear it now?" Piplup chirped in approval. Dawn sighed. "Here we go," she said.

"Oh, his eyes, his eyes  
Make the stars look like they're not shinin'  
His hair, his hair  
Spikes perfectly without him trying  
He's so beautiful  
And I wanna tell her everyday  
Yeah"

"_Who is she singing about?" _I wondered curiously, listening on.

"I know, I know  
If I compliment him he won't believe me  
And it's so, it's so  
Sad to think that he don't see what I see,"

Dawn had now thrown in a few dance moves, assisted by Piplup. _"Why must she be so perfect?" _I asked myself. 

"But every time she I see him, night or day,  
I say,  
When I see your face  
There's not a thing that I would change  
'Cause you're amazing  
Just the way you are  
And when you smile  
The whole world stops and stares for a while  
'Cause, Ash, you're amazing  
Just the way you are."

My mouth gaped open. Did she just say _Ash_? Dawn sighed, apparently exhausted and smiled to Piplup. "So?" she asked hopefully. "Pip-lup!" Piplup called. Dawn giggled and clapped her hands.

Pikachu was now on the ground and looked up to see my expression. He smiled and hit me with a small Electro Ball to the face, snapping me out of my trance. I was so shocked by Dawn's song that as I tried to leave quietly so that she wouldn't notice me, I tripped over a fallen branch and fell on my face. In the middle of the opening of the forest. In front of Dawn. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as Pikachu face-palmed. He ran out to me and helped me up. "Thanks, buddy," I said. Dawn just stood there, mouth gaping open, much like I was about thirty seconds ago. "Uh…" I began. "Hey…"

"What are you doing here?" asked Dawn, outraged. I quickly racked my brain for a believable excuse. "Mr Dewson told me to go get you. He saw you walk into the forest alone." Dawn gasped. "Am I in trouble?" she asked. I was relieved that she believed me, so I went along with it. "No," I said, "But he told me to tell you not to go in here again."

As I walked Dawn and Piplup out of the forest, Brock spotted me. Dawn thanked me and ran off, clearly embarrassed. Brock jogged over, asking, "What was that about?" Unfortunately, the bell rang. I said, "I'll tell you after school." Brock gave me a quizzical look, then nodded.


End file.
